Thomas II
Paul von Mackenheimer, later known by his regal name Thomas II, was a Uranian statesman and politician who served as the third Emperor of the Uranian Empire between 13 ANE and 17 ANE. His reign of just over three years was the longest reign of any Uranian Emperor. He also served as the Chairman of the Imperial Council (i.e. the Prime Minister) under Emperor Mathew II, as well as Foreign Minister under Emperor Thomas I. After his close friend and ally Mathew II was deposed as Emperor and executed during the brief coup d'état of Stephan Riltz, von Mackenheimer led the counter-coup forces and successfully wrestled back control of the country. His reign was entirely dominated by the war in Carsia, which by the time of him taking the throne had developed into a bloody stalemate. His first year saw major advances by Uranian forces in southern Carsia, but the eventual Uranian defeats at Aragin resulted in the gradual retreat of his armies back to the borders of the Empire. He died of heart failure amidst the combined invasions of the Carsian, Russianian and Jansian armies, being briefly replaced as Emperor by Hans Henries. Early life Childhood and early adulthood Rilgorian War and later Uranian Republic Von Mackenheimer spent the Rilgorian War as a intermediate civil servant in the War Ministry. He had by this time shed his radical fascism and instead espoused a more conventional ultranationalist conservatism. The end of the war resulted in him moving to the Foreign Ministry as an administrator, during which time he clandestinely joined the Uranian Nationalist Party, the main far-right political party in the central Uranian Territory. Until mid-2 ANE Grosse was mainly active only in the western part of the country in an around Beltondod; the branches that did exist in the capital primarily still adhered to radical syndicalist fascism, a movement von Mackenheimer abhorred as too left-wing. He joined Grosse in the run-up to the 0 ANE elections, attracted by the shedding of their earlier radical roots and adoption of a more traditional authoritarian nationalism; he was also greatly cheered by Grosse's railing against the New Era Treaty. Grosse's coup came as a surprise to him, yet he enthusiastically welcomed it and joined the paramilitary Black Guards in its immediate aftermath, participating in the purging of all enemies of Grosse's seizure of power. Von Mackenheimer is known to have personally murdered at least six people during this period; killing two in gun-battles with Communist and social democratic fighters, while executing a further four 'traitors' (i.e. ideological enemies). However, the true number could be significantly higher. Under Matau Henries He hoped his membership of Grosse, which he had to previously keep quiet, would help him rapidly climb the ranks of the civil service. Instead, he was moved from the Foreign Ministry into the Ministry of State Administration and Public Affairs, which greatly embittered him. While he was promoted into the senior civil service, he disliked the monotony and dullness of the work he was presented with. By mid-4 ANE he was the civil servant in charge of the department, and as such he met Tomas Henries when Tomas was appointed Minister of State Administration in October of that year. Von Mackenheimer was gradually absorbed into Tomas' close knit of allies and confidants; by the time Tomas was promoted as chief of the secret police in June 7 ANE, he was one of Tomas' closest advisers, particularly in matters of foreign policy which remained von Mackenheimer's primary area of interest. While he remained at-heart a conservative, he became gradually more accepting of Tomas' imperialist views, believing that imperialism would bring genuine stability to the Uranian Territory. When Von Mackenheimer was made the senior civil servant in the Foreign Ministry in 8 ANE (at the insistence of Tomas), he was already a senior player in the 'imperialist camp' within the Uranian government. In government Foreign Minister Prime Minister Riltz's coup and aftermath Emperor War in Carsia Domestic policies Defeat and death